The unofficial web page of the greater Cuenca expat community

The hippies would have to relocate from Vilcabamba.

aterosin wrote:

The hippies would have to relocate from Vilcabamba.

I will take that as a no. Where did you stay in Loja and would you recommend. I figure if I am going to visit Vilca I should stay a night in Loja first.

We stayed two nights in Vill. Then visited LoJa and drove that day to Machala. We wish we had spent a nite in Loja....
The lonely planet has housing suggestions as does trip advisor and the expat forum...depends on your budget.
The climate down there is very temperate and the farming is great.

The tents are going up in preparation for the holiday which I think is November 1st through the third. There were some vendors selling today, but most of the tents were still empty.

I hope to buy my first piece of Ecuadorian artwork (tacky or otherwise) this weekend and unveil it here on my web page. I was told to wait until the last day of the holiday so that I can get a bargain.

We drove from BAHIA Caraquez to Quevedo yesterday and today to Latacunga. Ppreparations are rampant all over the countryside. BTW?..this area is not covered in the Lonely Planet but we've done OK. gorgeous scenery from La Mana to Latacunga. We were up 11000 feet at some points today and my lungs are feeling it tonight.

I was Joe´s Secret Garden the other night and Texas Bigfoot came into the room and discussed what I had already heard: that he was returning to the United States permanently (after about 2 years living here).

He cited his reason as being he missed playing golf, fishing and hunting ( with friends). All he does in Cuenca is walk around he said.

In any case, lots of people return to the states even though they intended to stay here permanently. You see ads in the Gringo Tree regularly from people selling all their stuff, presumably because they are returning to the states.

No worries.  I won´t be going anywhere. I am fixture in Cuenca, even if nobody knows who I am.................

P.S.  I failed to find any art I could afford this past weekend. Looks like the walls will remain bare for another year.

Speaking of Joes Secret Garden, the tax police showed up around 8 p.m.  I figured they didn´t find anything irregular, but today I was told by someone better connected than me, that they will closed next weekend (they are only opened on Saturdays) due to the fact the tax police found a problem with their issuance of facturas (receipts).

Joe said all was AOK after tax police left. Annoyed that they disrupted business but said there were no issues.  Hope he meant it!
y
y

CB48 wrote:

Joe said all was AOK after tax police left. Annoyed that they disrupted business but said there were no issues.  Hope he meant it!
y
y

Every business I know in the USA gives that same answer no matter what the real story is. Hopefully that is not the case in Cuenca.

Nards Barley wrote:

I was Joe´s Secret Garden the other night and Texas Bigfoot came into the room and discussed what I had already heard: that he was returning to the United States permanently (after about 2 years living here).

He cited his reason as being he missed playing golf, fishing and hunting ( with friends). All he does in Cuenca is walk around he said.

In any case, lots of people return to the states even though they intended to stay here permanently. You see ads in the Gringo Tree regularly from people selling all their stuff, presumably because they are returning to the states.

No worries.  I won´t be going anywhere. I am fixture in Cuenca, even if nobody knows who I am.................

P.S.  I failed to find any art I could afford this past weekend. Looks like the walls will remain bare for another year.

I am surprised at how many people did not have a good idea of what life would be like in Ecuador and what the trade-offs would be.  I would imagine many of the USA people who leave are, as a certain Brazil expert characterizes them, people who expected to live in a little USA in the middle of Ecuador.  The good news is we know who you are, Nards, even if we can't recognize you on the streets.  I am sure it is better for you to be a small fish in a big pond.

Perhaps you can start a new hobby and create some art of your own...

Perhaps you can start a new hobby and create some art of your own...

aterosin wrote:

Perhaps you can start a new hobby and create some art of your own...

Or enlarge, frame and hang the famous photo previously posted on expat-blog of Nards Barley and the Police Patrol Surveying the Ecuadorian Beachfront.

aterosin wrote:

Perhaps you can start a new hobby and create some art of your own...

I have no artistic talent. Perhaps I can commission you for a painting being I know you have artistic talent.

mugtech wrote:

...I am surprised at how many people did not have a good idea of what life would be like in Ecuador and what the trade-offs would be...

Really, you're surprised? While I try to shine on folks with the big ? in front of the flag, since they have less than a clue than people who really get to remove the ?. On this one, I have to agree, people can be so ignorant that the thought of capturing the butterfly outweighs capturing the butterfly, and then without thinking about what the butterfly thought.

symo

I was engaging in idle chit-chat with someone who is better connected than me and who has indirect ties to the power center of the Cuenca Expat community (Gringo Tree). Probably nothing I am saying below is new to anyone but me. However, if anyone more in the know cares to clarify or expound, please feel free to do so.

Of course, Gringo Tree is housed in the Edificio Cuatro Rios and next door to is the charitable organization Hearts of Gold who I have been reading about for some time in various posts on the Gringo Tree.  It sort of surprised me when I learned Hearts of Gold had opened its own offices next door to Tree and was told that it had its own staff and legal foundation, because it demonstrated to me that this was a serious "enterprise" with a large base of supporters (of which I was not one of).  I also sort of wondered why they had their offices next door to Gringo Tree (if it was coincidental) and whether there was some sort of connection other than the fact they might have eaten pizza together at Fabianos.

Now, from my recent chat I was told that a company called farpoint mining was also based out the of the same offices as Gringo Tree and Hearts of Gold. 

Here is the background information on Farpoint Mining from their website:

Farpoint Internacional S.A. is a small, environmentally conscious gold mining operation working throughout the South American country of Ecuador. Since its inception in 2012, Farpoint has engaged in a number of alluvial mining projects that have revealed the rich nature of Ecuador's landscape. In addition to these projects, Farpoint is embarking on a new endeavor with Turn-Key Licensed Concessions.

Farpoint was formed by three North Americans living in Cuenca, Ecuador, who realized that President Correa's mandate to restart the mining industry in Ecuador would create a window of opportunity.

I looked over the website and I don´t see any physical address specified, so I can´t confirm that they are based out of the same offices as Gringo Tree and Hearts of Gold.

I know from time to time I have read posts on Gringo Tree promoting gold mining but my search on Gringo Trees site came up empty. However, some ecology advocacy site had posted the following they had found on Gringo Tree:

Qué está pasando?!!! Un anuncio en gringotree.com Cuenca:

Please join business expert Richard Verkley and geologist Stan Grist at a presentation where they will discuss an investment opportunity in an Ecuador gold mine that is nearing the end of its complex licensing process. Seating at the seminar and openings for investors are limited.
To reserve your spot at California Kitchen on Wednesday July 3 at 6 p.m., click here.

http://www.gringotree.com/cuenca/m/news … 2013-06-29
Gold Mine Investment Presentation
Planning to visit or retire in Cuenca? GringoTree is the best up-to-date source of local information and contact with the expat community. Subscribe free and search the database.
GRINGOTREE.COM

Now I have no idea what the ownership structure of Gringo Tree is currently, but apparently Richard Verkley is part of it, according to the person I was chatting with. He is also the husband of the director of Hearts of Gold. I am assuming that David Morril of Cuenca Real Estate is still part of the ownership of Gringo Tree and was a founder of it.

After my chat with this person, I went and re-read the article Said had written back in July 2014 defending them on his blog:

The scuttlebutt has been vague but potentially damning. Money donated to the charity is “maybe” being diverted for personal use—“perhaps” there is a conflict of interest—something “funny” is going on------.

Apparently "Said" has a financial stake in the mining operation:

As a supporter of Hearts of Gold, a reader of GringoTree, and with a financial interest in the other venture, these rumors were personally disturbing.

Edd confirms the three operations share the same office spaces:

All three enterprises share the same office space, so I walked in unannounced and stated the intention of my visit.

Here is my take.

I first wonder if Farpoint Mining purchased a stake in Gringo Tree for the sole purpose of using it to promote investment in their gold mining operation?

Further, If Richard Verkel was an owner of Gringo Tree at the time he made that post promoting his gold mining venture, I think he should have disclosed his relationship to Gringo Tree readers in that post

Despite Said´s passionate defense of Hearts of Gold, I think there are valid reasons for people to wanting to understand how these organizations are related.  Unfortunately, Said chose not elaborate on that part of it.

Wow... Nards, while I find you picayune, this post finds me eating my words. Keep it up Brother!!!

rsymington wrote:

Wow... Nards, while I find you picayune, this post finds me eating my words. Keep it up Brother!!!

Thank you sir ...........I think.

It was definitely a pat on the back. Some day, we must have coffee together :-)

I know it was. However, I am ashamed to admit I had to look up the word "picayune".

P.S.
I would be glad to have coffee with you sometime, although you will find me much more dull in person than I sound on this web page.  I actually had lunch with another reader aterosin and her brother and sister-in-law recently. Of course, she was bringing my "goods" back from the states for me.

rsymington wrote:

Wow... Nards, while I find you picayune, this post finds me eating my words. Keep it up Brother!!!

I second that emotion.  Why would anyone trust a venture involving a person who swears that International Living Magazine is the gospel of moving abroad?  Must be the same people who wind up moving back to the USA.

mugtech wrote:

rsymington wrote:

Wow... Nards, while I find you picayune, this post finds me eating my words. Keep it up Brother!!!

I second that emotion.  Why would anyone trust a venture involving a person who swears that International Living Magazine is the gospel of moving abroad?  Must be the same people who wind up moving back to the USA.

Glad to see amongst all the irrelevant crap I write about,  I occasionally post something decent.

P.S.
I would say our IL buddy´s track record on investing in Ecuador isn´t too good to date, since he was also a Coopera investor. I hope this one works out better for him.

That is some post, Nards. Thanks for being such a great detective. I didn't know that word either. By the way...I'm back In back in Cuencaville for a few days. Recovering from 4 weeks on the road with relatives. I will need a vacation in Oregon to recover.

I went to the immigration office at around 8:45 a.m. The line extended to the Super Maxi

I need to either hire someone to stand in line to ask my question, or I need to learn how to get up by 6:00 a.m. in order to get in line by 7:30 or earlier.

Nards Barley wrote:

I went to the immigration office at around 8:45 a.m. The line extended to the Super Maxi

This looks like the immigration office that is in the south part of the city. WOW!!

I have walked past there many times as I live quite close and never seen such a lineup. Glad it wasn't there when I had to avail myself of their services.

Nards Barley wrote:

[.
I would say our IL buddy´s track record on investing in Ecuador isn´t too good to date, since he was also a Coopera investor. I hope this one works out better for him.

Yes, we wish him all the best in all of his projects.  Could you give us an update on the Coopera?  Would like to know who got how much.  Deposit insurance should be a required course for all potential expats, especially baby boomers.  Not really Picayune Press (newspaper in the adventures of Moose & Squirrel) material, for the wrong investment could send more gringos headed back to the USA.

Nards Barley wrote:

I know it was. However, I am ashamed to admit I had to look up the word "picayune".

I don't want to derail the thread, but I would relate a tail of an English Composition Instructor I had in college that accused me of plagiarism when I used the word in a composition and therefor, she failed the paper. She said, "Nobody uses a word like picayune in "everyday" speaking. You obviously copied this piece."

I, with my usual decorum went to the Department Chair and asked they advise the instructor that she should pull her head out of where the sun don't shine and re-evaluate the paper based on the fact folks in New Orleans used the word everyday when they pick up a copy of The New Orleans Times - Picayune newspaper.

I ended up with an A on the paper. She with egg on her face

That's a great story, Symington.

Reminds me of my American history teacher (Montrose, New York) who alleged that my paper was too good to be original work by a teenager.  At least he had the good sense to interrogate me before grading the paper, so no higher-ups had to be involved and I got the grade I wanted and deserved.

Please "derail" this thread with a good story anytime.

By the way, here's the Latin connection for "picayune," according to Wikipedia: 

It was a small Spanish coin;  "by extension, picayune can mean 'trivial' or 'of little value.' "

rsymington wrote:

I don't want to derail the thread, but I would relate a tail of an English Composition

Nice Anecdote.  It Triggered my own paper writing memory.

I completed an online degree program about 5 years ago from the UMUC,edu.  It was a second bachelors for me so I only had to take 10 classes for 30 units. (The quality of the the program was basically crap, imo )

In one of my classes (on information technology) the professor sent me an email saying he wanted to thank me  because of all the research papers he had graded for that class, mine was the only paper which didn´t require that he spend a lot of time correcting spelling and grammar errors.

Of course my thought was spelling errors shouldn´t be a problem if you are using Microsoft Word.

An article el El Tiempo explained why the line was so long at immigration on Friday. Apparently the office was flooded with people trying to renew their passports and the office hours have been temporarily cut to 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. due to upgrades.

What annoys me is at the old office on Ordoñez Lasso, they had different lines for different type of tasks. Here there appears to be one line for all the different tasks that you have stand in before you get routed to the correct area.

Nards Barley wrote:

rsymington wrote:

I don't want to derail the thread, but I would relate a tail of an English Composition

Nice Anecdote.  It Triggered my own paper writing memory.

I completed an online degree program about 5 years ago from the UMUC,edu.  It was a second bachelors for me so I only had to take 10 classes for 30 units. (The quality of the the program was basically crap, imo )

In one of my classes (on information technology) the professor sent me an email saying he wanted to thank me  because of all the research papers he had graded for that class, mine was the only paper which didn´t require that he spend a lot of time correcting spelling and grammar errors.

Of course my thought was spelling errors shouldn´t be a problem if you are using Microsoft Word.

Back in 1968 I made a few dollars writing compositions for guys in college who had to stay in school or get drafted.  They mostly got a grade of B, which kept them in school while creating no "Who REALLY wrote this?" problems for them.  One guy flunked his other subjects and immediately enlisted in the US Navy to avoid Vietnam as a grunt, sent me a prayer rug from India in 1970, have not heard from him since.

I am going to be in transit the next two days, so I may miss viewing # 100,000 of the unofficial web page.
Please allow me to praise your great efforts to achieve the greatest thread on any Expat.com at any place at any time.  Looking forward to # 200,000.

Group shoulder massage might be in order as demonstrated by the couple at the left.

Took the redeye to Quito recently departing Cuenca from Terminal Terrestre at 11:30 p.m.   I took the busline Flota Imbabura because it was recommended by two Ecuadorians.  I don´t think all bus lines cover all cities, so there may be a best bus line for a particular destination.  My cost for the trip was $12.00 plus 10 cents to pass through the turnstyle.  I arrived at Terminal Terrestre Quitumbe in Quito at 7:00 a.m. which is in southwest Quito I guess, and took a taxi to the north of Quito which lasted about an hour due to bad traffic at a cost of $11.

The purpose of my trip was to try and elevate my Spanish out of crap status by passing a standarized exam (level B2) but I failed, so back to the drawing board. While in Quito, I wanted to capture the essence of the city in a photograph but didn´t stick around long enough to do so. However, I think I captured the essence of the city block I was on when I took the following photo from my hotel room.


That mall has the biggest food court I have ever been in. Almost made the trip worth it in itself.

My hotel was called the hostal el Jardin and I paid $30 for a small room with private bath.  It is real close to Parque Carolina, (didn´t see the park)  clean with hot water. I would stay there again.

There were three other people taking this exam with me. Two from South Korean and one from China. I chatted with the gal from China.  She lived in Cuba for 5 years and graduated from a university there. She is now working at a hydroelectric plant in Ecuador and is planning to pursue a masters at a university in Spain next year.  The university requires foreign students to pass at a minimum, level B2 of the Dele.

Can u take it again??

Yes I can and probably will again eventually.  It wasn´t so much a lack of knowledge, but a lack of preparation for the format. The written portion requires you to writes two compositions of around 200 words.  I sort of found that ridiculous since composition writing is a class you take in college, but whatever.

hoops: jump thru to succeed, you must. Yoda

On the Laundry Service thread, somebody had been looking for a laundry in Cuenca.

Nards Barley responded this evening:

"If I recall, it goes by the name Gringo Laundry."

And with that modest post, Nards hit the 1,000-post mark for his contributions to this blog.

He may have missed the mark on the recent Spanish-language test, but he has now graduated from Member-plus status to VIP, at Expat.com. 

Well done, Nards.  Congratulations.

Your insights, reporting and photographs have improved the Gringo Way.

We look forward to the next 1,000 posts and hearing about any higher aspirations you may have.

cccmedia, Quito operative, Draft Nards Barley for Presidente 2017

Not to knit pick, but could Nards, if elected, actually be sworn in and serve as president of Ecuador, being foreign born and not a citizen?  This might be the first step a campaign manager would take in considering such a run for office.